DANE HEPTNER AND CLEARWATER BAR WIN MEMBER SERVICE PROJECT OF THE YEAR

DANE HEPTNER AND CLEARWATER BAR WIN MEMBER SERVICE PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Perenich Caulfield Avril & Noyes wants to congratulate Dane Heptner, Esq. on being a recent recipient of the Florida Bar Association’s Young Lawyer’s Division “Member Service Project of the Year Award.”

Each year, young lawyers from around the state attend the Florida’ Bar’s Affiliate Outreach Conference (AOC); where local bar associations submit applications for awards and grants based on the successes and failures of the preceding year. Tampa’s local bar association affiliates include the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the St. Petersburg Bar Association, the Clearwater Bar Association, and others. The three most sought after awards at the annual AOC are the Afilliate of the Year Award, the Member Service Project of the Year Award, and the Community Service Project of the Year award.

This year, the Member Service Project of the Year Award was presented to the Clearwater Bar Association for the Afternoon at the Courthouse event that was organized and led by attorney Dane Heptner. Mr. Heptner serves on the Clearwater Bar’s Young Lawyer’s Division as a member of its board of directors, and he is heavily involved in several of its service programs and projects.

The project that won the Award was called the “Afternoon at the Courthouse and Young Lawyer’s Bootcamp.” Newly admitted attorneys and first time members of the Clearwater Bar Association were welcomed into the courthouse where they were given a tutorial on how to file legal documents with the clerk of court; how to make use of the courtroom technology and what to expect on hearing dates; how to conduct themselves in county court; and pointers on opening up their own law practice. The project was capped off by a judicial roundtable with different judges from the respective divisions, and an appearance by the Chief Judge Anthony Rondolino. At the roundtable, the honorable judges shared their opinions on how new attorney can find success in their first year of practice and what traps might lie ahead for the in their practice.

The project was just one of dozens of Clearwater Bar events Dane Heptner involves himself with throughout the course of “Bar Year.” His leadership in the Clearwater Bar Association, the St. Petersburg Bar Association, and the Hillsborough County Bar Association. His dedication and commitment to improving the profession has caught the eye of his peers; and, apparently, the Florida Bar Association.